Pfizer to Pay $2.3B for Largest Health Care Fraud Settlement in Its History

This is old, but regardless, one thing I've noticed in the Covid Era is that there are many people giving pharma companies the benefit of the doubt, when there's plenty of evidence suggesting that we should instead be constantly skeptical of them. It's not cynicism when there's history to point to.

Summary: &quot;Once approved, the drug may not be marketed or promoted for so-called &quot;off-label&quot; uses – i.e., any use not specified in an application and approved by FDA. Pfizer promoted the sale of Bextra for several uses and dosages that the FDA specifically declined to approve due to safety concerns.&quot;<p>Bextra was approved: &quot;for the treatment of osteoarthritis, adult rheumatoid arthritis, and primary dysmenorrhea.&quot; [0]<p>But was marketed for: &quot;In such documents, PHARMACIA marketing team stated as the “intended” use and message for Bextra that Bextra was for “acute pain.”&quot; [1]<p>[0]: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Valdecoxib#Uses_until_2005" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Valdecoxib#Uses_until_2005</a><p>[1]: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;archive.is&#x2F;20091207084948&#x2F;http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.usdoj.gov&#x2F;usao&#x2F;ma&#x2F;Press%20Office%20-%20Press%20Release%20Files&#x2F;Sept2009&#x2F;PharmaciaPlea.html#selection-361.247-361.376" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;archive.is&#x2F;20091207084948&#x2F;http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.usdoj.gov&#x2F;usao&#x2F;...</a>

Should add (2009)

The biggest lawsuit judgments are qui tam cases, or “on behalf of the king”, more commonly known as “whistle blower” cases and come from the pharmaceutical industry. What this means is there is always a bad act involving money over health (typically also involving a fraud of some kind), an employee that attempts to bring the fraud&#x2F;bad act to the attention of supervisors (not knowing the company is fully and intentionally engaging in the unlawful act), and then retaliatory action by the company against the employee&#x2F;whistle blower.<p>Just 2 years after this case, Pfizer was the defendant in another qui tam case for…off label marketing of another drug.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.m.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Qui_tam" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.m.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Qui_tam</a>

Based on a whistleblower tip. Pretty cool.

Is this part of the billions of dollars they say it takes to develop new drugs?

&gt; ...in Its History<p>So how much fraud has it committed?